https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated March 27, 2025
The U.S. Army’s Typhon Strategic Mid-Range Fires (SMRF)
System
What Is the Army’s Strategic Mid-Range
Fires (SMRF) System?
Reported improvements to Russian and Chinese artillery
systems present a challenge to the U.S. Army. Improved
longer-ranged artillery systems, new employment
techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the
proliferation of special munitions (such as precision,
thermobaric, loitering, and top-attack munitions) have
renewed concerns about the potential impact of Russian and
Chinese fires on U.S. combat operations and ground combat
systems. In response, the U.S. Army is seeking to improve
its ability to deliver what it refers to as long-range precision
fires (LRPF) by upgrading current artillery and missile
systems, developing new longer-ranged systems and
hypersonic weapons, and modifying existing air- and sea-
launched missiles for ground launch.
Originally known as the Mid-Range Capabilities (MRC)
System, SMRF is part of the Army’s LRPF modernization
portfolio. It is intended to hit targets at ranges between the
Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and the
developmental Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)
system. The SMRF Weapon System leverages existing
Raytheon-produced SM-6 missiles and Raytheon-produced
Tomahawk cruise missiles and modifies them for ground
launch. The SMRF system is also known as the “Typhon”
missile system (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Typhon Launchers and Battery
Operations Center
Source: The Drive: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/army-
fires-tomahawk-missile-from-its-new-typhon-battery-in-major-
milestone, accessed July 6, 2023.
SMRF Weapon System Components
According to the Army, the prototype SMRF battery is
planned to consist of four launchers and a battery
operations center (BOC) (Figure 1). SMRF batteries are to
be equipped with a number of prime movers, trailers,
generators, and support vehicles. Numbers of soldiers
assigned to each battery is presently unknown. The Army
originally planned for the first prototype SMRF battery to
be fielded no later than the fourth quarter of FY2023 and
three additional batteries were to be fielded on an annual
basis thereafter.
SMRF Unit Organization
The Army plans to field one SMRF battery in the Strategic
Fires Battalion of the Army’s regionally aligned Multi-
Domain Task Force (MDTF) (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Army Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)
Organization
Source: Chief of Staff Paper #1 Army Multi-Domain Transformation
Ready to Win in Competition and Conflict, March 16, 2021, p. 12.
Note: MRC Battery depicted above is now known as the SMRF
Battery.
The Army describes MDTFs as “theater-level maneuver
elements designed to synchronize precision effects and
precision fires in all domains against adversary anti-
access/area denial (A2/AD) networks in all domains,
enabling joint forces to execute their operational plan
(OPLAN)-directed roles.”
